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Steven Tinker
Judge
Carol Hermsdorf
Clerk of Court
608-216-7422 Phone
608-222-4196 Fax
Monona Municipal Court
1000 Nichols Road
Monona, WI 53716
Fines should be sent to:
5211 Schluter Road
Monona, WI 53716
You are in arraignment court today, and the primary purpose of this session is for you to enter a plea to the charge. Everyone here is charged with a civil offense, not a crime. The only way you can go to jail as a result of a civil charge is to be assessed a fine that you are capable of paying, and then not paying that fine.
You have the right to have an attorney assist you, but you will have to provide your own attorney. You do not have to have an attorney.
You may request a continuance today and that request will be granted. You will be given the next available date if you need to consider your options or seek advice.
If all you need is time to pay, the court will automatically grant a 60 day extension for you to pay your charge. If all you want is such an extension, see the court clerk and the court will accept your plea of no contest, find you guilty, and allow you 60 days to pay. This does not apply if your citation says you must appear in court.
An Assistant City Attorney may be present in court. If you plead not guilty the Assistant City Attorney will set up a pre-trial conference with you to discuss your case. He/she may pre-try the case today or set up a later date with you. The Assistant City Attorney can answer questions about court procedures, but she/he cannot tell you how to plead. The Assistant City Attorney represents the City, not you.
Names will be called in the order in which you arrived. When your name is called, you should step forward to the bench.
If you already know that you intend to plead not guilty, you may inform the clerk of that when you check in. The court will accept your plea of not guilty and you will meet with the Assistant City Attorney.
If you enter a plea of guilty or no contest today, you are waiving certain rights, including the right to a trial and the right to appeal the decision of the municipal court.
When your charge is read, you can plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest.
NOT GUILTY
If you plead not guilty, the charge will be referred to the City Attorney (prosecutor) and you will discuss the case with him or her. You have the right to a trial in Municipal Court. If you take your case to trial, the burden of proof is on the City. The City has to prove the case by evidence that is clear, satisfactory, and convincing. After a trial you will be found either guilty or not guilty. If you are found guilty, a penalty will be imposed. The forfeiture can be either higher or lower than the deposit amount on your ticket. If you are found not guilty at trial, the case will be dismissed.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your trial, you have the right to appeal the Municipal Court’s decision to the Dane County Circuit Court. The City also has the right to appeal. An appeal can be on the record, which is a review of the transcript of your municipal court trial, it can be a new trial to a judge, or it can be a trial to a 6 person jury.
If you are charged with OWI (operating while intoxicated, commonly called drunk driving) you have the immediate right to request a jury trial in Dane County Circuit Court. You must make that request within 10 days of your appearance today. There are fees attached to a jury trial request.
GUILTY
If you plead guilty it is admitting the charges against you and you will be found guilty and penalties will be imposed.
NO CONTEST
If you plead no contest and the court accepts your plea, you will be found guilty and penalties will be imposed. A no contest plea is very much like a guilty plea, except you are not admitting the facts of the case against you but you are agreeing to be found guilty. If you are found guilty after a plea of no contest the finding of guilty cannot be used against you in other civil lawsuits. So, for example, if you were involved in a traffic accident and caused damage or injury to someone else they cannot use the guilty plea against you in a lawsuit they would file.
If you plead guilty or no contest and the court accepts one of those pleas, the court must find you guilty. Although the Judge will give you an opportunity to address the court on sentencing, the Judge will not be able to dismiss the citation if the court accepts your plea.
PENALTIES
If you are found guilty in this court, a forfeiture will be imposed. The forfeiture consists of a fine, plus certain penalty assessments, court costs, and other charges that are required by state law. So if a fine of $50 is set by the court, the total forfeiture is $104.00.
If you are charged with a traffic offense, in addition to the fine demerit points are assessed by the Department of Transportation. The state determines what the points are. You can lose your license for accumulation of demerit points. If you accumulate 12 points in one year, your license will be suspended or revoked. We will try to tell you whether you are in jeopardy of losing your license by reviewing your record. If there are other charges pending against you please provide us with that information so that we can accurately determine what your record is.
If a forfeiture is assessed against you and you cannot pay it tonight, the court can give you up to 60 days to pay the forfeiture (up to 90 days if you are under age 17). If you are assessed a forfeiture and do not pay it, one of the following things can happen:
- Your driver’s license will be suspended for up to 2 years. If you later pay your forfeiture you can reinstate your driver’s license, but there is a $50 fee to do so. This only applies to traffic offenses.
- You can be sentenced to jail one day for each $40 of unpaid forfeiture.
If you are not capable of paying a fine that is imposed against you, you should tell us that. The burden to prove that you cannot pay it is up to you but the court will give you an opportunity to present your case in a hearing before the court. The court will not suspend the license of someone or send them to jail if they are truly indigent, meaning unable to pay despite their best efforts. The court will consider alternatives such as extending the time to pay.
For most traffic offenses (except Operating While Intoxicated and Operating After Suspension) the sanction for not paying a forfeiture is suspension of your driving privileges.
For Operating While Intoxicated and Operating After Suspension and most ordinance violations other than traffic charges, an alternative for non-payment may be jail time.
You may also be referred to a collection agency if you fail to pay your fine on time.
CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS
The court is able to accept payment by credit card. This is a service provided by GPS, Inc. and they charge a fee for their service in providing this payment option. Their fee is in addition to any interest or other charges you may pay on your credit card. The following credit cards are accepted: Discover/Novus, Visa, Mastercard, American Express Cards, or Diners Club International.
You may also pay your citation on line by clicking here: Pay Online
In order to pay a forfeiture by credit card you will have to pick up instructions for making credit card payments from the Court Clerk. We will allow you time to pay so that you can make payment prior to the due date. You are responsible for completing the steps to make payment in accordance with the instructions provided to you by the Clerk.
The Municipal Court has jurisdiction of persons who are at least 12 years of age but less than 17 years of age who are charged with non-traffic ordinance violations. Juveniles have the same rights as adults with respect to pleas. Juveniles have the right to a closed (private) hearing. A money judgment may be entered against a juvenile found guilty of a non-traffic ordinance violation. If the offense is alcohol or drug related, the driver’s license of the defendant may be suspended regardless of payment of the forfeiture.
If there is anyone who needs an accommodation to participate in these procedures, please ask the court for assistance.
It is our desire that you fully understand the procedures of the court and your rights. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask the judge, the assistant city attorney, or the court clerk.